Alabama Department of Archives and History

This Week in Alabama History

August 30 - September 5

Featured Event:

Boll weevils are first discovered on Alabama soil in Mobile County. The devastation the insect would cause to cotton throughout the South ultimately spurred agricultural diversification away from "King Cotton."

Other Events this Week

Creek Indians attack Fort Mims in what is now Baldwin County, killing nearly 250 settlers gathered there for protection. The attack caused fear and hysteria among frontier settlers, who quickly raised militia companies to fight the Indians in the Creek War of 1813-1814.

Officials of the United Mine Workers (UMW) in Birmingham call off a bitter coal strike, prompting the Birmingham News to declare that the result would be "Prosperity in the Birmingham District." Workers had walked out of the mines in early July to protest wage conditions, and almost two months of violence ensued. As many as 18,000 black and white workers had joined UMW, but resistance by employers, intervention by Gov. B. B. Comer, and public dissatisfaction broke the strike and debilitated UMW's strength in Birmingham for years.

Following Alabama's lead, a nationwide textile strike begins, with 15,000 Alabama workers among the 400,000 strikers nationwide. The Alabama strike, which had started in July, had survived threats of violence and even the brief abduction of strike leader John Dean. The largest walkout in Alabama and U.S. history at the time, the strike ended September 22 after mediation efforts by the Roosevelt administration.

Legislation requiring licenses for Alabama drivers and authorizing the creation of a State Highway Patrol is approved. Beginning in October, annually renewable licenses were issued to qualified drivers at least 16 years old. License fees were designated to fund the State Highway Patrol, which Gov. Bibb Graves established in December.

Gov. George Wallace postpones the opening of Tuskegee High School to prevent its integration. State troopers enforced the order, preventing the school from becoming Alabama's first racially integrated public grade school. Wallace took similar action in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile, but four Huntsville schools were integrated on September 9th.

Alabama lawmakers pass legislation requiring a new look for the state's license plates. Beginning in October 1954, tags were to carry an image of a heart and the phrase, "Heart of Dixie," a slogan that had been used for several years by the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce to promote the state.

Listen: Click the play button below to hear Archives Staff discuss this event on Alabama Public Radio.

Centreville reaches the highest ever recorded temperature in Alabama when thermometers hit 112°. The Labor Day weekend was a scorcher with cities and towns across the state recording several days of 100°+ temperatures.